Edmonton Oilers believe they're leading contenders in NHL hub city bidBack to video

“In a bid process, you don’t know how loud you should be, so we’ve been a little quiet, but it feels like it’s moving forward,” said Oilers senior vice-president of communications Tim Shipton.

“We’ve been working diligently with the NHL, the Government of Alberta and the City of Edmonton on a host bid. We’ve been sharing information on why we believe Edmonton should be right at the top of the list of any NHL city to host the season.”

Shipton said the NHL has been very clear on its priorities for selecting a hub city and first on that list is ensuring the safety of everyone involved, including the citizens of the host jurisdiction.

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“By any measure, Edmonton is at the top of the list,” said Shipton. “We have very low COVID-19 numbers, we have excess capacity as it relates to testing, a world-class health care system and a government that has really been on top of the response. We really feel that’s a huge edge for us.”

And the Ice District area is almost perfect for this.

“They didn’t think about a global pandemic when they designed it, but it’s definitely a plus. Two NHL sheets of ice and over a million square feet in Rogers Place. We can dedicate space to all 12 teams.

“And, for hotel space, we have the JW Marriott, which is attached, and adjacent hotels like the Delta and Sutton Place. We would be able to create a world-class, NHL-calibre quarantine space that is all connected. We really think that we have all the amenities and all the features that would appeal to the NHL and NHLPA.”

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With the public support of Mayor Don Iveson and Premier Jason Kenney, the Oilers are able to come at this pitch with a united front, which is another big plus. Knowing they don’t have to fight through political resistance is one less thing the NHL needs to be concerned with.

“I give credit to Premier Jason Kenny and the Government of Alberta, they’ve been on this thing from day one,” said Shipton. “They’ve supported the bid and really see the value of NHL hockey as a part of Alberta’s economic recovery.

“But they’ve also set the bar in ensuring that this would be done in the safest way possible.”

From a safety perspective, there is more to doing this than the Oilers first imagined, but ongoing discussions with Alberta Health Services helped them get a much better handle on how to proceed.

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“We’ve gone back and forth with them on what would it look like, from deep cleaning and disinfecting protocols, to distancing protocols, logistics of people movement and access to ice and facilities,” said Shipton. “They’ve been excellent to work with and have identified a lot of areas we need to focus on to do it as safely as possible. We really feel we’ve taken a comprehensive approach to all the key elements that we’d need to do this.”

The plan would see three games a day at Rogers Place, where teams would also practice in the adjacent community rink. Other city-owned facilities would also be part of the effort.

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“Places like Terwilliger Rec Centre, and The Meadows Rec Centre would be used as dedicated practice and training facilities for teams,” said Shipton. “We would rent it for a period of time, deep clean it, and turn it back over for public use.”

Regular COVID-19 testing will also be a requirement, but the Oilers say they won’t be digging into the province’s stash to monitor the quarantined players and staff.

“We are meeting with various different providers so we don’t take any testing capacity away from the public,” said Shipton. “What we come up with will not be at the expense of the public system.”

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Edmonton isn’t the only city pushing hard for this. With a major hotel and casino attached to their arena, Las Vegas is also very much in the running. It’s hard to say who’s favoured, but the way the Oilers see it, how can it not be them?

“The league has been very clear on what it’s looking for,” Shipton said.

“They’ve said on every level that their focus is the safety of participants and the safety of the jurisdiction.

“By virtue of that, there is no safer jurisdiction in the NHL than Edmonton, so there is a lot of optimism on that front.

“Also, maintaining the integrity of the quarantine is a top priority and we’ve got everything at our disposal with Rogers Place and Ice District. It’s right there. Safety of jurisdiction plus top facilities equals a very strong bid.

“We look at everything we have to offer and we believe that Edmonton is the best jurisdiction to do this.”

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